sunset from behind the wire

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Storing Information

Scientists have developed a way of storing vast quantities of information for up to a million years in a single molecule of DNA. They've also found a way to apply a mathematical algorithm normally used in long-distance radio transmissions to eliminate any errors when deciphering the data written in the digital genetic code of DNA.

(The Independent) Robert Grass and colleagues of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich said they have pioneered a process of encapsulated DNA in glass that is equivalent to creating a fossilised form of data storage.

“If you go back to medieval times in Europe, we had monks writing in books to transmit information for the future, and some of those books still exist. Now, we save information on hard drives, which we wear out in a few decades,” Dr Grass said.

DNA has the advantage over hard drives in that it is an extremely dense form of data storage with the potential to survive for long periods of time. An external hard drive for instance is about the size of a paperback book, can store about five terabytes of data and might last 50 years.

In contrast, an ounce (28 grams) of DNA could fit on a penny, store 300,000 terabytes of memory and palaeontologists have shown the information stored in DNA recovered from fossils can survive for up to a million years.

It's worth reading the entire article in The Independent (cited above) if you have more interest in the

details.

Not long after the discovery of the double helix architecture of DNA, people figured out that the coding language of nature is very similar to the binary language we use in computers. On a hard drive, we use zeros and ones to represent data, and in DNA there are four nucleotides, A, C, T and G. Scientists are still discovering information that was encoded in our shared DNA (example), and the capacity to store common computer data is a leap forward in the march toward a more rational form of data storage than we now use.

There are still some bugs that need to be worked out of the system and it's prohibitively expensive for every day use at the moment, but it clearly offers a pathway that has already been taken successfully as can be witnessed by the fact that you're reading this.

You could literally pack Wikipedia and all of the wisdom of the planet in a few strands of DNA for "onboard use". Naturally you and I wouldn't notice an IQ boost, but the "common folk" would be helped -- damn, but I sound like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton don't I. I must need a laxative...

A friend who's been reading Biology tried explaining this saying how the coding system offers exactly squared value of the amount of information we can store via binary codes. He said that mathematically, this offers the valuation a squared amount, so I thought, we could take this even further, if we found something that offers a base of say 6 maybe. I think this is just a step into another universe of information explosion.

Welcome to Virtual Mirage

"Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad," asked Alice?

"You must be," said the cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Good Morning

Virtual Mirage - What's on the other side of the mirror? Ask Alice how deep the rabbit hole really goes.

This blog is an extension of MY JOURNEY because sometimes my journey needs more explanation, and sometimes there is more to be said than can be expressed on one ordinary blog.

Sometimes it's politics (very serious), sometimes I address the human condition with a dose of humor, and other times it may seem as if the track is headed in a unique direction. I can be a complicated guy at times.

There are a few things you'll find I consider:

* Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

* Sometimes the questions are complex but the answers are simple.

* Love is the only condition where the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

* Steers do not sign treaties with meat packers. (think on that)

* Taxes are NEVER levied for the benefit of the taxed.

* The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no victory possible in defense.

Virtual Travelers

WHITE POWDER (Novel)

There is something intoxicating about a secret.

THE OLD WHORE (NOVEL)

In the peculiar culture of the Central Intelligence Agency, "old whores" are people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done, irrespective of the cost.

EXILES FROM EDEN (NOVEL)

Sparks fly as two star-crossed lovers meet. He runs toward trouble as she yearns for something missing. And it ends in a flight from and toward justice.

About Me

Today, I balance work and play as much as anyone can. All things remaining equal, play is more important. Life is short - it's important to make every day count for something, if only to yourself.
I'm a former tinker/tailor/soldier/sailor who has now decided that maybe it really wasn't all done for nothing.

This site contains copyrighted material, the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for educational purposes, and as such this constitutes 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Act. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.